Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ plays the pivotal and central role, not only in the events of end times bible prophecy, but all events in past, present, and future human history.

For the Old Testament prophets, Jesus of Nazareth offers confirmation of the Law and completion of God's promise through His fulfillment of prophecy:

"Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved." Matthew 5:17-18 (NLT)

Jesus of Nazareth, did not come into the world to create a new way of thinking or a new religious order.

He came to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament...

Who is Jesus of Nazareth?

So who is Jesus of Nazareth? And why do we call Him Jesus Christ?

The New Testament provides valuable insight:

"So the Word became human and made his home among us." John 1:14 (NLT)

The Word existed from the very beginning, and through the Word, all things were made. Jesus is nothing less than the Creator in human form.

Paul attested to this in his letter to the Colossians:

"In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body." Colossians 2:9 (NLT)

Critics will argue that these statements come from followers of Jesus and not the man Himself.

So what did Jesus Christ say in regard to who He was?

To find out, an important Old Testament reference is necessary...

When Moses talked to God in the burning bush, here's how their conversation went:

"But Moses protested, 'If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what should I tell them?' God replied to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:13-14 (NLT)

God referred to Himself as "I AM."

So how did Jesus refer to Himself?

In answering His critics, Jesus also referred to Himself as "I AM":

"Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!'" John 8:58 (NLT)

The crowd clearly recognized Jesus?s claim to be God, because they picked up stones to stone Him:

"At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple." John 8:59 (NLT)

The crowd in the Temple did not recognize Jesus as the Creator. In fact, most of the world did not:

"He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him." John 1:10 (NLT)

And even today, most of the world does not recognize the Creator. Yet, the evidence of His identity is clear and inarguable.

Why?

Because the identity of Jesus Christ is confirmed through His fulfillment of ancient prophecies never fulfilled by any other individual, prophecies no present or future person could ever fulfill...

The Messianic Prophecies

So what are the Messianic prophecies?

The Messianic prophecies are a number of prophecies made by the Old Testament prophets. These prophecies foretell the coming of a Redeemer, a world Savior who will wash away the sins of the world, perform miracles, and eventually, reign as King of the earth.

And He's known as the Messiah.

Here's a few examples of the Messianic prophecies:

"The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins." Isaiah 59:20 (NLT)

According to Isaiah, the Messiah will be a Redeemer who will buy back those who have turned from their sins.

The prophet continues:

"But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)

According to Isaiah, the Messiah will be pierced for our rebellion and crushed for our sins. We will be healed and made whole because He is whipped and beaten.

In addition, He will perform unprecedented miracles:

"And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!" Isaiah 35:5-6 (NLT)

When the Messiah appears, He will make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, and the mute sing!

And dozens of other Messianic prophecies are woven throughout the Old Testament.

So who is the Messiah?

Who Fulfills the Messianic Prophecies?

Does anyone meet the criteria established by the Old Testament prophets?

Yes.

Only one person fulfills the Old Testament Messianic prophecies...

Jesus of Nazareth.

The space alotted here doesn't allow for a comprehensive examination of each Messianic prophecy, but an in-depth look at the Messianic prophecies as fulfilled by Jesus is available elsewhere on this site.

That said, let's look at one example of an Old Testament Messianic prophecy:

"My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments." Psalm 22:17-18 (NLT)

According to the Book of Psalms, the Messiah's enemies will stare at Him and gloat. In addition, they will divide His clothes among themselves and throw dice for His garments.

Does this prophecy apply to Jesus of Nazareth?

Absolutely.

As recorded in the Book of John:

"When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said, 'Let's not tear it but throw dice to see who gets it.'" John 19:23-24 (NLT)

The enemies of Jesus Christ stared at Him and gloated while He hung from the cross, and Roman soldiers who oversaw the crucifixion divided His clothes among themselves, while throwing dice for His robe rather than dividing it.

Think that's just a coincidence?

Maybe it's also a coincidence that Jesus appeared on the world stage in the exact timeframe of history the Old Testament prophets predicted the Messiah would appear...

As previously stated, you can view a more in-depth list of Messianic prophecies on this page.

This page features 39 Messianic prophecies. If each of prophecy is given only a 50/50 probability of occurence in the life of one individual, then the odds of one individual fulfilling all 39 prophecies is:

1 in 549,755,813,900

That's 1 in more than 549 billion, with a "b".

There's less than 7 billion people in the world today, the most in human history.

And yet, Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all 39 of those prophecies with precision accuracy.

Think there's a chance He might be the Old Testament's prophesied Messiah?

The Lamb of God

The Old Testament Messianic prophecies are clear.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, also known as the Christ.

He is the Lamb of God spoken of by Isaiah:

"But it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners." Isaiah 53:10-12 (NLT)

Isaiah 53 reveals the purpose of the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. He came not to judge the world, but to save it.

God became flesh, and laid down His life as a sacrifice for you and for me.

As Paul explains in his letter to the Romans:

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." Romans 5:8-11 (NLT)

Peter reiterates Paul's position:

"Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." 1 Peter 3:18 (NLT)

Jesus Christ paid the price of sin once and for all through His death on the cross. As a result, our sins are washed away, and we are able to be counted as righteous in the eyes of God.

Why the Lamb of God is Necessary

So why is it necessary for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God to wash away our sins?

Paul provides us with insight:

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." Romans 3:23 (NLT)

Since we are all sinners, we need to realize:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 (NLT)

The wages of sin is death, so as sinners, we are all sentenced to death. This is a penalty that must be paid for our sin.

Jesus Christ chose to pay the penalty for our sin with His own life. By shedding His blood on the cross, He made our purification possible:

"For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible." Leviticus 17:11 (NLT)

Blood, given in exchange for our life, makes our purification possible.

The Book of Hebrews confirms this:

"In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:22 (NLT)

So the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is necessary for cleansing of sin.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Zechariah relayed God's promise to make a covenant, sealed with blod, to free us from sin:

"Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon." Zechariah 9:11 (NLT)

Because of the covenant Jesus Christ made with us, sealed with His blood on the cross, He has freed us from death in a waterless dungeon.

Jesus: The Gate Into Heaven

Without the blood of Christ to atone for our sin, all of humanity would be sentenced to eternity in hell. But, because He gave His life as a sacrifice, we are able to enter the presence of God and dwell in heaven.

This is the only way a man can enter heaven.

As Jesus Himself states:

"Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6 (NLT)

One cannot enter heaven any other way than through Jesus. He is the gate:

"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures." John 10:7-9 (NLT)

For God has reconciled the world with Himself through the physical death of Jesus Christ:

"For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." Colossians 1:19-22 (NLT)

As such, without the blood of Christ, no reconciliation exists between God and man.

As a result...

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life." 1 John 5:12 (NLT)

In other words, if you don't accept the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for your sin, then you're taking on responsibility for making that payment yourself.

And since the wages of sin is death, you can not have life without the blood of Jesus Christ.

The Unfulfilled Messianic Prophecies

While the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled countless Old Testament Messianic prophecies, some remain unfulfilled.

"Aha!," skeptics will say. "This proves Jesus is not the Messiah."

Not so fast...

Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of His First Coming to the very letter. The remaining unfulfilled prophecies regard His Second Coming.

And remember, the resurrected Jesus Christ is still alive and living, ready to fulfill these prophecies in the near future.

As the Book of Acts points out:

"After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!'" Acts 1:9-11 (NLT)

One day, Jesus Christ will return from heaven in the manner in which He ascended. And numerous unfulfilled Messianic prophecies foretell on this day.

More than 2,600 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel revealed the following:

"Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. And the Lord said to me, 'This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut. Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the Lord's presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway.'" Ezekiel 44:1-3 (NLT)

Just as Ezekiel foretold, the eastern gateway to the Temple has been sealed shut, and only the Messiah Himself will be able to go through the entry room of the gateway.

As detailed in The Messiah's Gate, this will happen on the day Jesus Christ returns to earth.

This is the day Jesus described to His disciples:

"Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matthew 24:29-30 (NLT)

Jesus promises that one day we will see Him coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Christ Is Coming

Knowing Jesus Christ is essential to understanding the end times.

An end times viewpoint that doesn't place Jesus Christ at the center is one that's devoid of hope.

And in the terrible times to come, nothing will be more valuable to fallen mankind than the hope offered by Jesus Christ.

The pain and suffering slated for our future will be excruciating, but just like the pains of labor, the pain will ultimately end in happiness.

So don't put your hope in this world. Put your hope in Jesus Christ, who will not disappoint.

He's calling you now:

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let anyone who hears this say, 'Come.' Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life." Revelation 22:17 (NLT)

Britt Gillette is the founder of End Times Bible Prophecy and the author of multiple books. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for FREE when you sign up for his free Substack.

Return to the top of Jesus Christ

Return to the End Times Bible Prophecy Website Homepage